After the Earthquake. 



Iv NEW-YEAR-SERMON, 



Preached Sunday, January 9th, 1887, 



TO THE 



CONGREGATION OF ST. PHILIP'S CHURCH, 



CHARLESTON, S. C, 



BY 



Rev. JOHN JOHNSON, Rector. 



Printed at the Request of and by Members of the Congregation. 



CHARLESTON, S. C. 

THE NEWS AND COaRIEK BOOK PRESSES. 
1887. 




Book fa^v 6 



After the Earthquake. 



A N E W-Y EAR SERMON, 



Preached Sunday, January 9th, 1887, 



TO THE 



CONGREGATION OF ST. PHILIP'S CHURCH, 



CHARLESTON, S. C, 



BY 



Rev. JOHN JOHNSON, Rector, 



Printed at the Request of and by Members of the Congregation. 



CHARLESTON, S. C. 

THE NEWS AND COURIER BOOK PRESSES. 

1887. 



SERMON. 



Psalm 50 : 15. 
" I will deliver thee, and thou shall glorify me." 

The Almighty God speaks thus through the lips of the 
psalmist, addressing the words of the text to his feeble crea- 
ture, Man : '' I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me." 
The sentence is prophetic : it looks forward to the remote 
deliverance of the Gospel with its resulting obligations,, to 
the remote event of the Incarnation, with all its blessings 
and all its duties. But the words have also a direct, an im- 
mediate reference to deliverence from dangers in this pres- 
ent life, and to gratitude for the same, giving glory to God 
for present help in time of need. 

VVe live in a community, which in the past year has both 
been visited and delivered by the hand of God. With the 
City of Charleston, our Parish has been identified from the 
earliest period of its foundation, two centuries ago, to the 
present moment. Scarcely had the woodman's axe cleared 
a space for the first settlement, when among the colonists 
there were steps taken to build the first Church of St. 
Philip on the spot where St. Michael's, forty years after- 
wards, was erected and now stands. From that day to 
this, through all "the changes and chances of this mortal 
life," through wars and peace, fire, pestilence and tempest, 
the congregations of St. Philip's, for eight generations, have 
shared with their fellow-citizens the vicissitudes of an event- 
ful history. Fifty-two years ago, we saw our second colo- 
nial Church in ruins, after a destructive fire. Twenty-three 
years ago, our third church, the present one, was consider- 
ably injured by the bombardment of the city, and its services 
suspended for about two years. The cyclone of August, 
1885, again damaged it. The earthquake of last summer 
nearly shook it to the ground. 



No event in our local or parochial history can be compared 
with this last. For, over and beyond the loss of life and 
property which it caused, the terrors and distresses of that 
first night,', together with the anxious days, nights, and 
weeks that followed, have registered themselves on our 
hearts and minds in indelible characters. 

True, there should mingle with those painful recollections 
other memories of merciful escapes and glad deliverances in 
that time of peril, — memories that should never be allowed 
to fade away. To find ourselves, assembling together, this 
New Year, with not one person missing, by reason of that 
calamity, from our hundred and seventy-five families ; to 
remember that when we left our houses in alarm, our flight 
was not in such wintry weather as now we have ; to re- 
member that, though deprived of our Church, we have been 
permittted to assemble for divine worship with no intermis- 
sion of services ; to sum up, as was done in the Report of last 
Sunday, a total of church offerings and contributions for 
1886 only a hundred dollars less than that for 1885; to record 
donations of money from many directions towards repairing 
and rebuilding our Church property, — such considerations 
should lift up our hearts in praise and gratitude to Almighty 
God. 

Yet, after all, the facts of public and private loss, of 
municipal, parochial, and individual loss, remain to give us 
serious thought and deep concern. Let us review together 
some of the leading events of the Parish, since the end of 
August last. 

As soon as examination could be made, the Vestry in- 
formed itself concerning the damages received on the night 
of the 31st of August. As regards the Church, it appeared 
that the main body of its steeple was unhurt, but that a 
section of it, immediately below the spire, had been partly 
thrown down. The falling of some heavy masses of brick 
and iron from that height caused three severe injuries to the 
building below, viz : the breaking through of the roof over 
the southern gallery, the destruction of the roof of the 
southern porch, and the damaging of the western porch. 



In the interior, but little plastering had been thrown down, 
down. The beautiful Corinthian columns with the full 
ornamentation of the order in stucco-work, appeared not at 
all injured ; but cracks over the arches of the chancel, and in 
the arch above and behind the organ, bore witness to the 
destructive violence of the first heavy shocks. The organ 
itself escaped injury, and so also did the stained-glass 
windows. None of the wood-work of the pulpit, reading- 
desk or chancel, or panelling of the galleries, was injured. 
And yet it was impracticable to hold services in the Church, 
even if a part of the congregation had been willing to 
venture there. The large breach in the roof over the 
southern gallery rendered the building too open to the 
weather, and fragments of loosened plaster might fall at any 
moment. Accordingly, it was decided to seek some 
place for the worship of the congregation on the next 
Sunday, and St. Stephen's Chapel, Anson Street, became our 
place of refuge during all the month of September; except 
that on Sunday afternoons, a service was held, during that 
month, in private rooms of a member of the Vestry, kindly 
lent us for that purpose, in the lower part of the city. 

I am sure we drew nigh to God in spirit and in truth,- and 
He drew nigh to us at those times of alarm, unrest, and 
perplexity. For several reasons our congregations were not 
large in September. Some families had been absent before, 
some left the city after the great shock : some found the 
places of assembly inconvenienly distant : others felt anxious 
about leaving home for more than an hour at a time : all 
felt strange in strange places and unaccustomed seats. But 
it was good for us to be there where the Bread of Life was 
broken : we did well in not forsaking the assembling of our- 
selves together. Few of us can forget, how in Anson 
Street, and in Gibbes Street, we humbled ourselves under the 
mighty hand of God ; how we reached out to feel, with the 
touch of faith, the reality of the everlasting arms of God, 
that were, all the while, our unseen, but most strong 
support. It was then, indeed, that we called upon Him, as 
•a congregation, in the time of trouble. He did deliver us, 
according to His faithful word, and we should glorify Him. 



6 

With the coming- in of the month of October, our way 
was made clearer by the very generous tender of this com- 
modious room, in the name of a leading business firm of 
Charleston.^' The Vestry gratefully accepted the offer, 
and immediately fitted the room for services, by bringing 
hither some of the sacred furniture of St. Philip's, and 
making everything ready for our use on the first Sunday 
of that month. 

It is to be hoped, that no further change, or removal, 
may be found necessary, until the time for the re-opening 
of our Church, and our glad return to its sacred courts. 
Meanwhile, the work of repair has been begun, and every- 
thing is made to look forward hopefully to our holding 
Easter services there, on the second Sunday in April. Not 
that all work of restoration will then be completed, but 
sufificient to enable us to resume the use of the main body 
of the Church. We shall have to enter by the doors of 
the cross-aisle, as neither the vestibule nor the organ-gallery 
can be made ready by that date. As to the probable cost 
of repairs, and the ways and means provided, or to be pro- 
vided, your Vestry has not furnished me with definite infor- 
mation. The work is done by day's labor, and not by 
contract. I can only say, that there was no authority for the 
public statement made some weeks ago, which put the cost 
at from $25,000 to $30,000. I have never heard the Vestry 
mention any probable cost higher that $15,000, nearly one- 
half of which has already been provided through donations 
from without the Diocese. Even though our hopes, from 
the Appeal of the. House of Bishops to the Church in the 
United States, have not been, and may never be, realized, 
you should not let any spectre of debt rise before you to 
discourage your outlook. The sum to be raised will not 
be likely to exceed $6,000 or $7,000, and may be borrowed 
on the securiy of your Glebe lands. This latter property 
has itself been injured, however, to the extent of about ten 
per cent, of its estimated value. 

Together with the Church, the Sunday-School building 
has suffered damage, estimated at from $1,000 to $1,500. 

■ ■ *F. W. WagenerA Co. 



The St. Philip's Church Home, on the Queen Street wing 
of the building, the older part, has been considerably 
damaged, so much so as to require the disuse of those rooms 
until the spring, when it is hoped that both repairs and im- 
provements may be made. The Bishop has set-apart some 
portion of the rebuilding-fund for that purpose, I am told, 
three thousand dollars ; but it is likely that more will be 
required for actual improvements, over and above repairs. 

At present, the lady inmates, though a little crowded, 
have been made comfortable for the winter, occupying 
almost entirely the Church Street wing of the building. 
Under the trying circumstances of their danger and ex- 
posure during the earthquake nights last summer, none of 
them, I am happy to say, were made to suffer very seriously 
in health. While some of them were very infirm, and all 
were anxious and distressed at the calamity which suddenly 
turned them out of doors to seek their safety in the open 
air, I recall with pleasure, and a pardonable pride in woman's 
power of self-control, the admirable conduct which they 
exhibited. I give glory to God for the testimony of His 
grace granted them, to calm and steady their feeble nerves, 
to brace their shrinking frames against impending danger. 

Among the many vivid scenes my memory of that dread- 
ful night has pictured on its tablets, there will ever remain 
a group of houseless women, seated amid the graves of the 
eastern church-yard, speaking in low tones to one another; 
the starry vault of the midnight heavens overhead ; and, 
standing out from their heights of darkness, the steeple of 
St. Philip's lighted up by threatening fires. 

There remains a pleasing duty to be discharged in 
chronicling for your information the generous gifts of indi- 
viduals, and the offerings of some thoughtful congregations 
of our Church in the United States, which have been sent 
to me for distribution. A small part only came for the 
designated purpose of rebuilding St. Philip's. By far the 
greater part came to be dispensed among the needy, the 
sick, the suffering of the Parish and entire community. 
First, towards rebuilding the Church, I received in Sep- 



8 



tember from a society of ladies connected with the Parish of 
the Monumental Church in Richmond, Va., $i 5. Later, from 
Holy Trinity — New York City, through Rev. Dr. McKim, the 
Rector, $156, and from a friend in Galveston, Texas, $35. 
These latter sums were paid over by me to the Bishop : 
the former to our Parish Treasurer, together with $ 5 
from an individual; while $10 from two individuals were 
paid by me to the Treasurer of the St. Philip's Church 
Home. Altogether, under this head of rebuilding, t 
received about $200. I am not exact in returning it 
here, because the offering from New York was entered by 
th£ Bishop in his general fund for the city Churches, St. 
Philip's having a certain part, as his books will show. The 
large donation from Old Trinity Parish was received through 
the Vestry, and was on a previous occasion referred to by 
me in addressing you. 

Then, from eight other Parishes, two in North Carolina, 
two in Virginia, one' in Central New York, one in Massa- 
chusetts, one in Vermont, and one in South Carolina, there 
were sent me, for the sufferers by the earthquake, offerings 
to the amount of ^445.86. And, from a Parish in West- 
chester County, New York, came a large box of clothing. 

While, for the same object, donations from fourteen indi- 
viduals were received by me, to the amount of $940. I say 
fourteen individuals, that being the number of those only 
who were known to me in the transaction or correspondence. 
Thus two members of this congregation transmitted to me 
sums received from Baltimore, amounting to $312.00. 
Bishop Howe gave me for distribution $150.00, of the 
amount sent him from other Dioceses. To summarise: 

I received for rebuilding $200.00 

From eight Parishes for the sufferers 445.86 

From fourteen or more persons for the sufferers. . 940.00 

Total • $1,585.86 

Of the funds sent for distribution, one hundred dollars 



9 

went by designation to one person, fifty dollars by designa- 
tion to two persons, forty in like manner to four persons. 
Where the distribution was left to me, as it was for the 
most part, I apportioned the money in sums, varying with 
the necessity of the case, from two to twenty-five dollars, 
and in this mode of distribution more than eighty individ- 
uls and families were assisted, counting a family as but one 
individual. 

It was, indeed, a privilige to cause ''the widow's heart to 
sing for joy," and the despondent to be cheered with hope, 
at such a time of wide-spread anxiety and distress. It was 
then that I was permitted through the bounty of others to 
see and know with them, that "it is more blessed to give 
than to receive." Not that my blessing, as almoner, was to 
be compared with theirs who gave me to distribute, but it 
was mine to receive for them the pressure of a grateful 
hand, the tribute of a tear-filled eye, the broken utterance 
of "God bless you," from their beneficiaries. 

And so, the eventful year of our Lord, 1886, drew to its 
close with many a thanksgiving to Almighty God, within 
and without our Parish, for his great deliverance, and His 
raising up friends to aid and comfort us in our adversity. 
Our beautiful temple, threatened to its downfall, has yet 
been spared us, and we have been helped to restore it. Our 
lives have been given us from the very jaws of death, to 
glorify God in the years which remain. 

When I visited St. Philip's Church with your sexton to 
examine its interior, a few hours after the great shock, we had 
first to clamber over the wreck of the roof piled up in the 
southern porch. As we together entered the vestibule, 
lighted by a candle, making darkness visible, and passed up 
the middle aisle toward the chancel, a small object at my feet 
attracted my attention. I stooped and picked it up. It 
proved to be a perfect little flower, which had fallen from 
among the stucco, or plaster, ornaments of the vaulted ceiling 
overhead. I took it home and have kept it, for the lesson it 
would teach us all— "cast down but not destroyed." Again, 
as I turned away from the chancel, and was passing to the 
2 



TO 



vestibule, my eyes lifted upward, caught sight of the bright 
stars shining down through the large break in the roof of the 
south gallery. An unwonted, an unwelcome, sight to a 
beholder in its bare reality of sense and substance, but oh, 
how grateful, how familiar, in their emblematic lesson for 
the children of God, seemed the stars to me that night ! 
Through loss to gain ! Through toil and turmoil to rest ! 
Through darkness to light ! Through ruin and decay to 
lasting habitations in glory unfading and eternal! 

Sometimes our faith all but fails us, when much buffeted 
by adversity, with clouded, darkened, skies above us, we 
strive to penetrate, in human foresight, to the secret pur- 
pose of the Most High. Our faith zvon/d (ail us; but what 
is our faith ? It is not in ourselves, our feelings, fervors, 
heats or raptures. All the value, all the eternal worth, of 
"precious faith" comes from the fixed, eternal, heavenly 
object, to which the eye of faith is directed. That object is 
out of and above ourselves. It is the Divine Word. It is 
the Divine Person of the Son of God* "Jesus Christ, the same 
yesterday, to-day, and forever." 

Though, to our dust-clouded eyes. He should appear, at 
times, but as a speck of light upon the face of darkness, but 
as a dim star shining down upon us in the night of trouble, 
yet be it ours to keep the eyes ever turned to this Word of 
God ! In its light we shall see light : by its holy teaching 
we shall be informed : by its guiding, as by a light shining 
in a dark place, — as by the leading of a star, the wise men 
from the east were at this season led to the babe in Bethle- 
hem, — so, by the Word of God in these Holy Scriptures, as 
we honour them, shall we be led, from faith to knowledge, 
from knowing in part now, to knowing in perfection then, 
to the full fruition of the Godhead, the comolete and bliss-* 
ful enjoj'ment of the everlasting presence and love of God.— 
Amen. 



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